Clear, bright, shockingly light ruby with thin clear edges. An initial funk surprises and I had to double-check the label to confirm this was indeed Paso and not Monterey. It settles down into a soft, easy, nutty, oaked tincture with a mineral high-note and an equally mellow bass-note of tar.
Again, this REALLY tastes like Monterey. Has this always been Paso?!? I have drank Estancia Meritage for decades–always trying it because the PP is great and it has an impressive package–and I feel like it used to be Monterey. My continuous experiments with it have not panned out wonderfully: not ONCE has it impressed me into a duplicate purchase.
In the mouth: mellow, soft, balanced, well-integrated–everything I can possibly say to indicate it really has nothing going on but is NOT a bad drink. It COULD be a bright little claret if it only had a touch more focus. Like basically every Monterey cab I have had in my life it is just SUCH a non-event. Tannin equally mellow. I’m done with this wine. Buy it if you want an impressive bottle for a pittance containing a full true BDX blend, simply-translated and extremely easy to drink.
2012 Estancia Reserve Meritage Paso Robles 13.9
Stephen McConnell 